The complete or partial detachment of ligaments, tendons, and/or other soft tissues from their associated bones within the body are relatively commonplace injuries, particularly among athletes. Such injuries are generally the result of excessive stresses being placed on these tissues. By way of example, tissue detachment may occur as the result of an accident such as a fall, over-exertion during a work-related activity, during the course of an athletic event, or in any one of many other situations and/or activities. Surgery may be needed to re-attach the soft tissue to its associated bone or bones.
Some injuries may require surgery to attach two bones and/or bone fragment(s) together, such as in the case of fractured bones.
Numerous devices are currently available to re-attach soft tissue to bone and/or to attach bones or bone fragment(s) together. Examples of such currently available devices include screws, staples, suture anchors, and tacks. For example, in soft tissue re-attachment procedures utilizing screws, the detached soft tissue is typically moved into a tunnel which has been drilled into the bone. Then the screw is passed next to the soft tissue and into the bone, with the compressive forces resulting from inserting the screw holding the soft tissue to the bone.
Depending on the circumstances of the procedure and the variety of physical sizes of patients and locations of repair, a particular screw may be too long or too short for a particular procedure, whether for soft tissue to bone attachment or for bone to bone attachment. Thus, an inventory of screws of varying lengths is typically maintained at hospitals and other surgical facilities. Ensuring that the various lengths are adequately stocked may be time consuming and costly. Additionally, a surgeon typically has to select a length of screw before its implantation, which may complicate the surgical procedure process and/or add to the expense of a surgical procedure.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved surgical screws and inserters for surgical screws.